The combination of virtual reality and enterprise content management is currently being tested at the University of Bielefeld. The goal is to optimise information management in companies as well as to better link physically existing and digital documents with information media.

First use cases tested

The first application scenarios are said to be quite close to the market maturity, practicality is making progress, as well as project contributors. For example, it is conceivable to display virtual information about a physical document, while it is being worked on. This is plausible, because hardware continues to develop extremely rapidly.

With „goggles“ in the workplace?

Granted: it is doubtful that virtual reality glasses will soon belong to every physical ECM workplace – and might not really be desirable for purely aesthetic reasons. Who would like to work with high-tech goggles crammed on his nose?

Simulation until you get dizzy

Did you know that some manufacturers of virtual reality glasses „install“ an artificial nose into the viewing area in order to counteract the dizziness that occurs in some simulations or virtual environments? Just a side note, but either way it will take a long time until one whisks Tom Cruise in „Minority Report“ or Robert Downey Jr. in „Iron Man“ onto the digital projection screen through virtual documents and objects. That is – as opposed to diving goggle optics – a much cooler idea.

Beam me up, EASY!

Especially since there are a lot of ergonomic issues and aspects of workplace health to clarify before virtual reality goggles are used. In this respect, in several years one might find the good old reading glasses in workplaces still much more common than virtual reality goggles. Would that be bad? No, enterprise content management will still get along quite well without virtual reality. But to dream a bit of Hollywood, of a bit more glamour in the workplace, is not forbidden. On that note: Beam me up, EASY!